Sensory disorder diagnosis on the rise

Novel treatments a godsend for some, but some experts say there's really nothing new

April 04, 2012|By Vikki Ortiz Healy, Chicago Tribune reporter

Clare O'Connor, 6, swings, bounces and spins on a bungee swing in her Oak Park home. She has a condition known as sensory processing disorder, and the swing is intended to improve her balance and coordination. (Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune)

Clare O'Connor never seemed to notice when she hurt herself. She regularly put her shoes on the wrong feet. And at school, the 6-year-old kindergartner often tumbled out of her chair while other pupils sat quietly at their desks.

Clare's parents long dismissed her awkward falls and other difficulties as quirks and clumsiness until an occupational therapist offered a surprising remedy — install a bungee swing in their living room.

Bobbing regularly now from the elastic swing in her Oak Park home — the aim is to help direct her energy and improve balance and coordination — she is showing improvement, says her mother.

"I don't know if it's a magic show or not, but I know it's been a great experience for us," said Kathleen O'Connor, as her daughter spun circles on the swing at the speed of a Cirque du Soleil performer.

The unusual approach was aimed at addressing a condition known as sensory processing disorder, or SPD, a controversial term gaining attention in pediatric and parenting circles. It occurs when the brain cannot properly process incoming signals for an appropriate physical or verbal response.

Ten years ago, children who had trouble keeping still or showed extra sensitivity to sound, smell, taste and other sensory experiences might have been written off as bratty, hyperactive or kids being kids, experts say. But recent research has led to a proliferation of cases involving sensory processing challenges, a diagnosis keeping pediatric practices that specialize in its treatment busy with new clients.

In a study of 800 4-year-olds in Cook County, 3.4 percent met criteria for having a sensory processing issue, said Dr. Karen Gouze ofChildren's Memorial Hospital. Gouze was co-author of the 2009 report published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

The findings are some of the latest and most localized identifying SPD, which has yet to be officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association.

Still, Gouze and other experts familiar with the condition say that although these challenges may be more identifiable today, whether they should be classified as a new disorder and how they should be treated remains debatable because of a lack of conclusive evidence.

"The question is, when is it something that parents of preschoolers need to deal with, or something that they'll just outgrow?" she said.

In the beginning, Colleen and Michael Shinners loved that their first child, a boy, seemed to sleep all the time. But just after he turned 2, Kevin was still sleeping 17 hours each day. He had fewer than 10 words in his vocabulary and put almost everything he touched in his mouth, sucking the paint off his Thomas the Train toys.

"It just seemed like we weren't getting anywhere," said Colleen Shinners, of Wilmette.

The Shinners were confused when early intervention evaluators suggested that Kevin had SPD. Colleen Shinners is a social worker; her husband is an ear surgeon. They wondered why neither one of them had heard of the condition.

After years of occupational therapy, which involved slowly introducing a "sensory diet" of stimuli until he was comfortable around each, the boy, now 6, stays awake, speaks well and blends in with his kindergarten classmates.

The diagnosis made sense, said Colleen Shinners, adding, "We're believers."

At the other end of the spectrum is Deborah Michael, an occupational therapist and founder of Northshore Pediatric Therapy, with offices in Chicago, Glenview and Highland Park.

Michael, who has been practicing pediatric occupational therapy for 18 years, is among a cadre of specialists who consider SPD an alternative and trendy diagnosis, but one that lacks evidence-based research.

While Michael agrees children may struggle with sensory processing issues, these are most often tied to larger neuropsychological problems, such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, she said.

"My worry is that children are missing out on proper primary diagnoses and they're just wasting time, money and energy trying to do sensory processing work when there's other work to be done," she said.

In the study of Chicago-area children, Gouze and her co-authors found that one-third to two-thirds of the participants seemed to have sensory processing issues independent of a larger psychological issue.

Other findings were that boys were more likely than girls to have problems and that there was no ethnic correlation, Gouze said.

Gouze is co-author of a book called the "Sensory Sensitive Child: Practical Solutions for Out-of-Bounds Behavior." The best way, she said, for parents to determine whether they should pursue treatment for sensory processing challenges comes down to one question: How much is it interfering with life?

For Joanne Mock, the answer was obvious. They needed help.

Her son, John, struggled with speech since he was 2. First he had trouble pronouncing certain words. By 31/2 he had a stutter, which brought him to a speech therapist.